I must confess that I am not the only Recovering Bapticostal out there! I know there are many more; however, I’m convinced that not all of us know who we are. That will change, I’m sure of it! For the time being, though. You are stuck with me!
Today I want to share a few thoughts about how Spirituality begins for most Bapticostals . . . before they are become the Recovering type, that is. Once Recovery kicks in, Spirituality takes on an entirely different look. But I get ahead of myself.
Spirituality for the Bapticostal finds its genesis in seeds planted deeply and with great fervor in the fertile hearts of those who wish to find meaning and make a difference. Regardless of the Spiritual Box Store (read church) dispensing those seeds, they tend to find homes in the hearts of the innocent and pliable. Once planted, they take root and with proper nurturing and cultivation they begin to bear fruit in the lives of those budding Bapticostals. Bapticostals grow in the ways in which they are trained. We Bapticostals find our initial Spiritual homes somewhere along the continuum anchored by the extreme right and the extreme left. More often than not, we secure a safe place somewhere in between the two extremes and there we stay, content in the definitions of Spirituality fed to us by “those who know best.”
So often, our Bapticostal Spirituality forces us to create “like-minded clubs” of fellow Bapticostals intent on preserving and perpetuating our particular brand of Spirituality. We write books, create vast kingdoms marked by buildings and land, find ways to espouse our beliefs via multiple media platforms, build private schools dedicated to the indoctrination of other budding Bapticostals and train them to recruit new club members. We become enamored with our own brand of Spirituality to the exclusion of others. We work on “Branding” in order to distinguish our club from competing clubs vying for members. We become so wrapped up in the trappings that we miss the heart of Spirituality.
As much as we feel the need to compete with the glitz and flash of other entertainment entities, we all too often miss the point. The seeds of Bapticostalism as I have briefly described them, have borne and continue to bear fruit; however, I’m not convinced it is fruit worth sampling.
I believe that when life forces us to face our frailty as human beings and struggle to move forward with honesty and dignity, we find ourselves ripe for new seeds of a different kind of Spirituality. This Spirituality focuses on:
- Inclusion rather than exclusion.
- Love rather than hate.
- Compassion rather than judgement.
- Grace rather than disfavor.
- Wonder rather than bewilderment.
- Joy rather than manufactured happiness.
- Peace rather than divisiveness.
- Patience rather than impatience.
- Kindness rather than meanness.
- Goodness rather than “niceness” (I’ll have more to say about this one down the line)
- Faithfulness rather than a fickle nature.
- Gentleness rather than arrogance.
- Self-control rather than self-indulgence.
This is the kind of Spirituality I seek. This is the kind of Spirituality I wish to define me. This is the kind of Spirituality that I desire to express. This is the kind of Spirituality that I believe, more often than not, finds a home in the hearts of the Recovering.
Peace!
Mark E. Hundley
